Chapter Six: Mobster; Noun

I hoped the Belikov family couldn t hear all my swearing as I tried to open the window. The cold weather had frozen it shut, and my body wasn t recovered to its original strength in order to force it open. Come on, come on, I whispered, trying to coax the window open. Finally, I heard a squeak and the icy wind enveloped the room.

I stuck my head out the window and looked down, estimating the fall I would have to make. Luckily, the distance didn t seem too dangerous and I threw my legs over the edge, dropping down to the ground. I bit my lip to try to take my mind off of the pain of the impact and slid Abe s coat and scarf on.

A part of me found it ironic that I was heading back home, the place I had originally been running away from. However, I knew I had to find Abe. After reading his letter, I couldn t go back to school without seeing him and telling him I was okay. Somehow I had a feeling he was right - we were connected together in an unexplainable way. My life and his had their parallels, intertwining our fates.

Fortunately, I wouldn t have to cross through the Moroi part of town. I really couldn t risk another gun shot, especially when Ivan wasn t here to heal me. I mentally cringed at the thought of his name, hating the way our last encounter ended. I could feel he was still partially mad at me, but mainly at himself. He wished he had come sooner, or offered to walk me to his place. He felt as if the incident was his fault.

A part of me wondered if he could feel what I was feeling, or hear my thoughts like I could his. Answer me if you can, I thought, trying to direct it toward him.

Silence.

Emptiness filled me. I wished there were some way to contact him, someway to make peace with what happened - just to discuss what even occurred, why I can hear his thoughts and feel his emotions. However, it seemed like I would just have to endure his guilty conscience until I saw him again when school started.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around me and a hand cover my mouth as the mysterious person dragged me into the alley way. My immediate instinct made me bite the hand and elbow my attacker in the face, forcing his grip to loosen enough where I could break free.

"Jesus, Schoenberg. How the hell do you manage to recover from a bullet one day and beat me up the next?"

"Abe!" My defensive attitude quickly disappeared, transforming into relief as I turned around and threw my arms around him. His body stiffened from the abrupt contact, but after a moment relaxed after he wrapped his arms around me.

"Never thought you would be so glad to see the man who was the reason you were hurt in the first place," He muttered.

"How do you know it was your fault? It could have been some psychotic person with a gun who just randomly shot and hit me." I was sick of people feeling guilty about my injury, it wasn't technically anyone s fault except for the person who shot the gun.

"...Maya, do you realize who I am?"

"You're Abe Mazur, the mobster."

He chuckled, looking down at me. "Mobster? Is that the technical term?"

"I believe so, yes. Mobster, noun. A member of a group which-"

He broke away from me, stepping back. "-Schoenberg, don't do this to me."

"Do what?"

"Be all cute and witty. I can't drag you into my mess. You've already been shot, and I can't handle it if you were put into more danger."

I watched his expression, which seemed conflicted. "If you don't recall, I'm going to be a guardian soon which means I'll be in dangerous situations all the time. Plus, my parents don't lend me much room for safety. And what about that letter you wrote?" I asked, digging into the jacket and pulling it out. "You said we had a connection. Listen, all I want is to tell you I'm okay and that if you needed help you could ask me."

Abe raised an eyebrow. "Are you proposing a mutual agreement between us?"

"Yes, I'll help you and you'll help me." Somehow I had a feeling I might be getting myself into more than I wanted to. However, something about Abe spoke to me in a way which nobody else did. I trusted him. This realization sent chills up my spine as I watched Abe's face, waiting for his next move.

"Then come with me," He commanded, grabbing my hand.

I knew better than to ask Abe any questions, for I was afraid of the answers he may or may not give me. Even though I trusted him, I didn't exactly feel comfortable getting involved in his work, especially since I didn't even know what his work was. My small stride lengths had to quicken in order to match his long ones and my eyes glanced around, taking in the familiar surroundings.

"You're taking me back home," I stated.

"Yes." He stopped and turned to face me. "And what I need you to do is really important. Are you sure you're up to it?"

I looked over Abe s shoulder and at the familiar building. "Am I suppose to find what you were looking for the other day?" I asked.

"Not really. I learned that your mother isn't going to play easy with me and give me what I want, so I need you to help make my point."

I didn't like the sound of that. I tried to keep my face neutral but I could feel my heart racing. "What do you mean?"

Abe hesitated, which hinted that he was as uncomfortable about this as I was. "...I need to take you hostage."

I placed my hands on my hips and gave him what I hoped was an intimidating glare. "No. Tell me what you want from my mom."

"If I tell you, will you go along with my plan?" He asked.

"Does your plan involve hurting my mom in any way?" I countered.

"I thought you didn't even like your mother!" Desperation filled his voice and I could tell he was losing his patience.

"...Fine, let s just do this." At the end of the day, I wouldn't be devastated if my mother died today. It would mean the end of my father s misery, and a part of me wondered if it would mean the end of people associating myself with her and her bloodwhore ways. "But you still need to tell me what you want from her," I quickly added.

"I need her blood."